The CZA reveals a beautiful collection of posters for election day

Date:

01/20/2013

As the upcoming elections approach, the Central Zionist Archives decided to provide a taste of the posters and handbills from its Collections.

"In the early elections, posters and handbills were the main instrument for the spreading of party propaganda. The posters in particular had great influence over the viewer, being visual, and presenting short and direct messages. The best graphic designers and print houses worked on these posters and they are therefore very interesting to study, even today. When one examines the posters, one can see what subjects troubled the Yishuv and the State of Israel in its early years, and what ideas motivated them.

The Central Zionist Archives houses a rich and diverse collection of posters and handbills, many of them about elections and parties. The posters and handbills that are related to these subjects comprise about a fifth of the whole Posters and Handbills Collection. This is simply paradise for researchers or people who are interested in the elections and parties in the days of the General Council (the Va'ad Haleumi) and the Assembly of Representatives (the Asefat Hanivcharim).

As the upcoming elections approach, the CZA decided to provide a taste of the posters and handbills from its Collections, which are related to elections and parties from different periods".

"On January 25th 1949, the first elections for the Constituent Assembly (Ha’asefa Hamechonenet) were held. The Israeli Declaration of Independence from May 1948 determined that until permanent government institutions were established, a provisional government would be established, which would be called the Provisional State Council. The members of the Provisional State Council were chosen from the Jewish Agency and from the Jewish National Council (the Vaad HaLeumi) – not in a general election.

General elections were supposed to take place until October 1st 1948, but the War of Independence did not allow it. After the elections were postponed twice, and the southern front became stable towards the end of January 1949, elections could finally be conducted".